State & Regional Water Board Regulations in the Cannabis Cultivation Landscape

Thursday, April 19

1:40 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Meeting Room 304/305, Sacramento Convention Center

CWEA: 1 Contact Hour

The presentation will focus on the regulatory framework utilized by the Regional and State Water Boards for the cannabis industry. I will provide a background overview of the Water Boards Cannabis Program, discussing the changes the program has seen, and give an update on the current status of the program.

Learner Outcomes:

Upon completion, participants will be able to understand the common environmental hazards associated with cannabis cultivation sites

Upon completion, participants will know who to contact with questions regarding the cannabis program, and where copies of the regulatory documents can be found

Upon completion, participants will have a better understanding of the regulatory process involved with cannabis cultivation sites.

Griffin Perea

Biography:

Griffin Perea, P.G. - I am a Senior Engineering Geolgoist with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board tasked with overseeing the Cannabis Program. I obtained my B.S. in Geology from Chico State University in the Spring of 2009, after which I obtained a position with a small environmental consulting firm in the Chico area working mostly on issues surrounding underground storage tanks. After working in private consulting I moved to Sacramento for a position with the Bureau of Reclamation in the Design and Construction Division. At my time with the Bureau I was involoved with documenting all phases of large scale construction projects on the Federal Central Valley Project, including overseeing drilling operations and large scale excavations. In 2013 I gained employment with the Central Valley Water Board, in the Redding office. Once at the Central Valley Board I immediatly began working within the Forest Activities Program, which deals with non-point source waste discharge issues from timber harvest operations. From the Forest Activities Program I transitioned into the newly created Cannabis Regulatory Program and began conducting both permitting and enforcement activities related to waste discharges from cannabis cultivation sites. In 2016 I became a Senior Engineering Geologist in the Cannabis Program and was tasked with managing the Cannabis Program for the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.

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Shannon Simmers

Regulatory Compliance OfficerCity of Redlands

Biography:

Shannon Simmers, Regulatory Compliance Officer at City of Redlands, is responsible for the Pretreatment Program and other regulatory requirements. She began in the ECI profession in 2014 with previous experience in inspection/quality assurance. She possesses an AS in Water Supply and certifications in wastewater, water treatment, distribution and stormwater. She is the Past Chair of the P3S Committee and is actively involved with CWEA. She is TCP Subject Matter Expert and was involved with ECI exam re-validations and study-guide revisions. In 2018 the CWEA Clean Water Magazine identified her as a 2018 Emerging Leader and also awarded the CWEA 5S.

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Elizabeth Betancourt

Senior Environmental ScientistCentral Valley Water Board - Redding

Biography:

Elizabeth Betancourt is the chief of the cannabis permitting unit for the Redding office of the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board (CVWQCB). She holds an MS in Watershed Science (Colorado State University) and a BS in Environmental Biology and Management (University of California, Davis), and has more than a decade of experience in water resources, spanning fields of planning, management, protection, and regulation in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. In her role with the CVWQCB she works with her permitting team and staff throughout Region 5 to implement the brand-new regulatory and permitting policies and programs of the state and regional boards, with the objective of protecting California’s water quality while streamlining the entry of the cannabis farming sector into California’s legal economy.